State requires dispatchers to have medical training

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/STEVE SHERIDAN
Lou Beniot, dispatcher for the Leominster Police Department, shows off the new Total Response system that is being introduced in cases of medical emergencies.

Area police departments are ushering in a new era of safety in compliance with a state law mandating dispatchers are trained to provide medical instruction over the telephone that is meant to improve health care but there is also concern about liability issues.

The law took effect July 1.

It stipulates dispatchers in the state's 259 911 call centers be trained in emergency medical dispatch, also called EMD.

"This nationally recognized lifesaving system will offer increased benefits for 911 callers," Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan said in a released statement. "This is another component of a comprehensive effort to make sure that Massachusetts citizens receive the best available 911 services."

Ashburnham Police Chief Loring Barrett Jr. advocates training so Ashburnham was way ahead of the mandatory certification requirements, said dispatch supervisor Susan Brennan who received her training nearly two years ago.

"Obviously, it gives the public better service," Brennan said.

One of the best attributes is that EMD provides uniform advice for dispatchers throughout the state, she said.

"We are proud of these new EMD requirements and believe that they will raise the standards of excellence for 911 dispatchers and will benefit every citizen of the commonwealth," State 911 Department Executive Director Frnak Pozniak said in a released statement.

The four full-time and three part-time dispatchers in Ashburnham have all had the chance to use the training, Brennan said.

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Dispatchers have a guide book for medical emergencies such as chest pains, child birth, choking, breathing problems or abdominal pain, said Kelley Gammell, the training coordinator and a dispatcher for the Leominster Police Department.

Dispatchers open a tab and to walk callers through the emergency.

The EMD asks general information questions such as the nature of the incident and location of the patient and increasingly gets detailed but then the questions get increasingly detailed.

"Procedure would be how to walk somebody through the Heimlich maneuver," Gammell said. "There is a tab to walk somebody through (epinephrine pen) instructions. The very last tab is common medical terms."

There is some controversy over the EMD system.

Certified dispatchers received 24 hours of training spread over three days.

Dispatchers must undergo advanced training and are subject to increased liability but often have not been given pay raises for the added burdens.

There is also a question of whether the system really gives better service all the time.

Before the system became mandatory, police dispatchers in larger communities such as Leominster would hand off medical emergencies to the Fire Department dispatcher because firefighters are EMTs and have more training in medical emergencies.

"So some don't feel comfortable giving pre-arrival medical instruction," Gammell said. "They feel the Fire Department would be better equipped doing it because they know the proper terminology and all or most are EMTs."

Police dispatchers must still call the fire department to get an ambulance rolling but now instead of handing off the emergency, they continue offering medical information.

"A lot of times what is happening the caller hears the fire department pick up and they start talking over you. It's leading to confusion, the caller doesn't know who they should be talking to and we should be doing all the talking. They are excited they are in the middle of a medical emergency."

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